movies

Classic Television Commercials (Part I)

Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium.

Shotlist

PA 1814
B/W
1) 01:00:11:07
BAND-AID
To prove that Band-Aid with super stick "sticks better than any other bandage", tests are performed on an egg at room temperature.
Close-up of an egg stuck to a bandage, immersed into a glass container of boiling water. Close-up shot under the water of dishes at the bottom of a sink.

2) 01:01:13:27
BAND-AID
Children "ooh and ahhh" over the new colorful Band-Aids.
Shot of children playing through a chicken wire fence. Muybridge type shots of a girl on a swing, a boy on a pogo stick, a girl jumping rope, and a boy rollerskating.

4) 01:02:49:28
REMINGTON ELECTRIC SHAVER
An amazing demonstration using a peach and a brush prove that the "man size Remington Electric Shaver" is both gentle and tough.
Close-up of a bin of peaches, of a hand holding a peach, a thumb pressing on a hairbrush, a man shaving with an electric shaver, an electric shaver shaving a peach, and an electric shaver shaving the bristles of a brush.

5) 01:03:50:20
GILLETTE SUPER-SPEED RAZORS
Dodgers baseball team members Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, and Don Zimmer shaving. Close-up of a blade being put in a razor and a razor being rinsed under a faucet.

6) 01:04:46:09
MUM CREME DEODORANT -- A classic spy intrigue scenario reveals the secret message,"Mum doctor's deodorant discovery now contains M-3 to stop odor 24 hours a day."
A mysterious spy type woman in a black overcoat and hat sips from a cup and pulls a photograph out of her purse. Close-up of a photograph of a guy who looks like a detective. A detective guy smoking, gestures subtly with his eyes. Shot of a woman's feet walking and an envelope being dropped on the ground near a man's foot. Spy woman walks through a love bead curtain. Detective woman on the telephone, speaking softly while her eyes dart around. Seductive spy woman looks through a beaded curtain.

7) 01:05:49:01
An animation of Susie introduces the PEPSODENT jingle: "You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with PEPSODENT".

8) 01:07:00:15
DODGE
This ad shows the men working in the plant "to bring metal alive" to build a Dodge.

9) 01:09:06:05
CHEVROLET TRUCKS
Chevrolet Trucks are Champs of the Alcan Run, "a road that lies under Northern skies, toward the land of the midnight sun. It crosses the crest of the great Northwest, and it's known as the Alcan run". This military type march, presents the "trucks of the task force fleet" and shows them driving on the rough mountainous roads.

10) 01:12:50:12
THE RENAULT DAUPHINE
A man in a business suit carrying a briefcase roller skates down the sidewalk. Aerial shot of cars driving on a city street. Fast motion shots of a Renault with balloons hanging out the window driving around a corner. Shot from behind the driver's seat down a road following a truck. Aerial shot of a large car partially wedged in a parallel parking space and driving away, the Renalt parallel parking between the parked autos. Shot in the front seat of a smiling man in a business suit. Close-up of the steering wheel and the honking of the horn. Animation map of the U.S. with a car drving in rectangular dotted lines.

11) 01:13:56:01
CHEVROLET
A stage type setting with step platforms -- a man (Pat Boone) and a woman (Dinah Shore) present the 1959 Chevy Impala in a "somewhat subliminal way" by only showing the automobile in very quickly edited clips.

12) 01:15:45:02
CHEVROLET -- This is an excellent advertisement for reaction shots because the dialogue is performed without any words or a voice-over.
Close-up of the license plate of a 1959 Chevrolet, slow zoom out from a little girl looking out the rear window and winking, a man walks past her and pats her head. Close-up of a boy, shoulders up (because his hands are on his hips) he tilts his head in a smart aleck smile. Close up of the same boy in a taunting manner closing his eyes and sticking his nose in the air in mock snobbery. Close-up of a little girl sticking her tongue out quickly, looking out the rear window of a car. Close-up of a little boy putting his fingers in a V shape over his nose and pulling his eye lids open to expose the red section. A man gesturing with his arm over a car looks over and quickly looks again in a "double take". Close-up of the boy pulling his lids down looking up and laughing. A boy points while a man standing nearby carrying boxes and other items under his arm looks to see what he is pointing at. Close-up of a man smiling and pausing, thinking to himself, he nods his head and looks down biting his lower lip -- then he turns his head to his left. Close-up of a woman standing in the frame of an open car door, looks up and nods her head up in friendly recognition while smiling. A shot a bit above and behind a woman as she struggles to shut a car door -- she tries to slam it three times before it actually shuts. A woman walks up and stands next to a man, looking at him she crosses her arms -- he nods and smiles, looking straight ahead. Close-up of a woman stretching her neck examining and evaluating something that she is looking at -- lips shut tightly, she looks with her eyes to her right. Close-up of a man smiling, looking ahead. Close up of a man and woman -- man smiles and runs his tongue over his teeth, turns to look at the woman next to him. She has been looking in his direction and smiling, but when he looks at her expression quickly changes to a blank passive expression. Close-up of a boy smiling and rubbing his nose with his finger. Close-up of a woman smiling and inspecting. Close-up of an arm opening a car door. Close-up of an arm shutting a car door. Close-up of a woman's face, her eyes widen in interest. Close-up of a woman's face, sudden expression of surprise or shock, then she turns her head to her left. Close-up of a car door slowly opening, a bag of groceries leaning against it on the passenger seat. Shot of the faces of a man and woman, woman turns her head from the side to the front with an extreme expression of surprise, eyes and mouth suddenly open wide, then she turns her head to her left. Close-up of a man's face as he gives a knowing wink. A woman in the driver's seat looks over her shoulder to the back seat. A woman in the driver's seat shuts the car door and nods in satisfaction. A Chevrolet wagon pulls away from the curb and drives down a suburban street lined with threes.

13) 01:17:53:21
DELCO DRY CHARGE BATTERY -- When there is a power outage in a foggy ice storm, the Air Force relies on Delco battery power to run the ground control approach equipment.
A C-124, (a large transport plane) flying over an icy mountainous region. Slow aerial pans of icy mountain peaks. A truck drives up next to a spinning satellite dish. Men sit in a line in front of equipment wearing headphones. Silhouettes of soldiers in caps looking out into the fog. Close-ups of soldiers wearing headphones and speakers. A soldier sits in front of a control panel with many dials and levers. A satellite dish spins in circles in the fog. Shots through the windshield of an airplane landing.

14) 01:21:04:28
SPEEDWAY "79" POWER FUEL
An animation of cartoon car parts and riders with a Speedway jingle.

19) 01:25:29:11
KOOL "snow fresh filter" menthol cigarettes
An animation of an ice skating penguin, followed by a shot of a flowing icy river leads into a suave smoking announcer.

20) 01:26:30:10
MARLBORO cigarettes
Close-up of a rugged and serious man holding a cigarette between his lips and smoking deeply. The man leans on an antique sports car, looking into the engine and smoking. Close-up of a box of Marlboro cigarettes.

21) 01:27:35:25
ROBERT BURNS cigars
A man with a rake and a little boy on an ocean shore. Close-up of a man putting a cigar band on a child's finger. Tobacco leaves hanging to dry on a pole.

24) 01:30:21:11
S.O.S. cleaning pads
A man and a woman in Viking costumes sing on stage about S.O.S. A man comes out and sings the high vocal sections in a blond wig.

25) 01:32:48:24
RAID bug killer
Cartoon insects panic because Raid "is coming" and then get killed off by cartoon Raid clouds. A woman stands outside and sprays Raid on roses, a tomato plant, and a hedge.

26) 01:33:49:14
TIDE laundry detergent"The Cleanest Clean Under The Sun"
A woman hangs white items on a clothing line on the beach. Close-up of a woman wrapping a fluffy white towel around the head of a little girl. A woman in white holds a sheer cloth up in front of her face and body against the wind and then happily folds it and lays it in a basket. Pan along the clothing line of white garments blowing in the sea breeze.

28) 01:36:15:13
TEA -- Tea Council, Inc.
Close-up of tea pouring out of the spout of a kettle and into a white cup on a saucer. Close-up of tea sitting in a cup steaming and lightly bubbling. Close-up profile of the lips and the nose of a man -- he lifts a cup of steaming tea to his lips and takes a sip.

29) 01:37:14:27
HAMM'S "The Beer Refreshing"
An idealized lakeside setting with a full moon reflected on the water introduces an animation of a beaver chopping down a log that the Hamm's bear dances on to the beer jingle. The full moon over the lake becomes the setting for a double exposure of a bubbling glass full of beer zooming towards the camera. A man and a woman sit by the lake having a romantic candlelit dinner and toast with their glasses of Hamm's.

30) 01:38:36:11
CARLING BLACK LABEL BEER
This animation sequence shows the man lounging in the garden and swinging in a hammock while his wife works and brings him a Black Label beer.

31) 01:39:39:09
RHEINGOLD Extra Dry Lager Beer
Bottles and cans of Rheingold march in a New York street parade. Some of the bottles play bass drums, some cans carry flags and play trumpets, pull a street organ made of cans of Rheingold pumps, ride in a Rheingold train across a bridge and a keg floats through the sky like a blimp.

32) 01:40:40:00
BUDWEISER
Close-up of a woman smiling and holding a sea shell to her ear. Waves roll in on the shore. Close-up of fingers playing a flute. Close-up of a can being puncture opened. Close-up of beer being poured from a can into a glass. A barbecue grill with hamburgers and hotdogs cooking and a vat of Budweiser on ice nearby.

33) 01:41:43:04
BALLANTINE'S BREWER'S GOLD
Puppet men in a bar hold up their beer and sing.

34) 01:42:47:13
GALLO GRENACHE ROSE -- This commercial depicts happy people enjoying Gallo Rose in a formal party, an intimate picnic setting, and a casual barbecue social.
A close-up of a clear beverage being poured into a crystal glass zooms out to show a formal party. Close-up of an appetizer platter with shrimp and parsley arranged on it. Hands remove small wine glasses from a silver tray. A woman leans against a tree chewing on a chicken leg while a man pours wine into a drinking glass. Close-up of the glass. A man holds up a drinking glass and smiles with trees behind him. Close-up of a salad being tossed. Close-up of steaks on a barbecue grill.

These commercials are so much fun! The only one I vaguely remember is the "look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp" one. The BandAid commercial has such fun bandaids, it makes me wish I had a scraped knee or cut finger right now. The Dodge steel commercial was interesting combining both a commercial for the steel industry and the car. I think that was a 55 or 56 Dodge? Sure were a lot of old men still working at the factory. I hate today's commercials, but the old ones from the 50s and 60s were fun to watch and usually had a cool jingle. Ahhh, the good old days. :)

In the 50s there was a Swedish Pepsodent commercial for the cinema. It starred the actress Yvonne Lombard who exclaimed: "Gula hinnan borstas bort med Pepsodent!" (Take away the yellow with Pepsodent). The "yellow" was personalized by a man painted and dressed to resemble an American native of a western movie (that might follow the commercials). Pepsodent made him disappear as well. I had expected that the Pepsodent commercial in the Classic Television Commercials would have the same racist theme, but it had not. It might have been an European invention, inspired from the western movies.

It is fun to watch these commercials from the 1950's. They seem much shorter than the ones made today.

Reviewer:Spuzz
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August 9, 2005 Subject:
Part I of a wonderful series

Having seen these commercials YEARS ago, like when I was 10, so 14 years ago, it's a pleasure to discover the commercials on this site. A lot of memories on these commercials... While it's hard to review EVERY single commercial here, I'll produces some 'notes' for each review of them...
Some Notes..
I sure don't know why Band-Aid doesnt produce band aids as cool looking as the 'stars and Stripes' bandages.
The great 'You'll wonder where the Yellow' went pepsodent commercial is on here.

How can you remove band-aid plastic strips with super stick from your skin? Ive tried sticking my finger in boiling water, but as we can see that doesnt work.
Is there no end to what we can learn about shaving from a cartoon parrot with a stand-up bass?
Remington demonstrates to us that we can use its electric shaver to:
1. Shave the gentle peach fuzz of one's rear-end and
2. Shave the coarse bristly hair just around the other side from there.
Im just a little sickened by Pee-Wee Reese not considering what he does with little boys "work".

Reviewer:Marysz
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February 21, 2005 Subject:
Wondering Where the Jobs Went

A series of different commercials from the fifties and early sixties. Among them are one in which a woman lifts a ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂdry egg at room temperatureÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ with a band-aid and puts it in boiling water to demonstrate its sticking power. In another an anonymous male hand uses a ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂman-sizedÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Remington shaver on both a hairbrush and a peach to show its shaving versatility. An ad for kidÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs band-aids is truly imaginative. Children roller-skate, jump-rope and pogo-stick across the screen in a Muybridge-ish kind of style.

The last ad is a paean to Dodge workersÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂwe see various scenes of both men and women, blacks and whites on the factory floor at Dodge building cars while a folksy, cowboy voice sings ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂweÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre gonna build an automobile!ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Possibly Dodge was on the verge of negotiating a new contract with the UAW and put the ad up as a public relations ploy. But still, itÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs nice to see the shots of the workers and it reminds us that once upon a time America was a country that manufactured its own goods. Those days are long gone.

This commercial should be the new paradigm for the modern anti-smoking camapign. The simple association between square dancing and smoking would have kids running away from cigarettes in droves. I could, however, foresee many seniors picking up the habit again, though.

xrayspecs is absolutely right about the Chevrolet spot in this collection. It is "an excellent advertisement for reaction shots." I was so struck by the eyeline matches and point-of-view editing in it that I created an editing exercise based on it for a television-criticism class.

To facilitate that exercise, I put frame grabs from that commercial on the class Website: